Torpedo.



G. P. HELFRIOH.

TORPEDO.

APPLICATION FILED N0V.15, 1913.

Patented Nov. 17, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 14 WIT/VES 8 A i l @im Arrfw/Eys G. P. HELFRIGH.

TORPEDO.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 15. 1913.

Patented Nov. 1'7, 1914.

3 SHEETS--SHEET 2,

G.` P. HELFRIGH.

TORPEDO.

APPLICATION FILED Nov.15, 1913.

Patented NOV. 17

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

w/mfs s ATTORNEY S minets.

GU-STAV-P. HELFRIC, OliV NEW YORK, N. Y.

TORPEDO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. it, wie.

Application filed November 1.5, 1913. Serial No. 801,149.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that VGUSTAV P. HnLrnioH, a citizen ofthe United Stat-es, and a resident of the Acity of New York, county of the Bronx, and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Torpedo, of which the .following is a full, clear, and eX- act description. n

This invention relates .to improvements in torpedoes, andhas for an object to provide an improved structure for steering a torpedo, and for providing means for indicating the path traveled by the torpedo so as to allow for correct steering.

Another object of the invention is to provvide an improved structure which will send a spray of water to. an appreciable height above thesurface of the water in which the torpedo is arranged, and also to project a light upwardly :from the torpedo.

A. still further object of the inventionis to provide a graduated solenoid structure .for coptrolling the supply of current to the various parts of the torpedo so that by proper energization of the solenoid any of the parts desired may be properly actuated for causing the torpedo to act in the desired manner, for instance moving to the right or left;

In carrying out the object of the invention a' torpedo shell of substantially any kind is provided, and is provided with a. propeller at the rear, and with a plurality of partitions intermediate the length of the shell so as to divide the shell, into independent compartments. The center compartment is preferably open at the top and bottom, and has arranged 'therein a spool carrying insulatcdwire, which wire has one end connected with a suitable current sup ply on the shore, and the other end of the wire connected to conductors designed tov distribute current to thel various current re ceiving devices in the inclosed compartments. rlfhc front compartment is designed to receivean explosive, and when current is supplied thereto the spark caused thcrebj7 will result in the ignition of the,1 explosive. The rear compartment is supplied with various motors and other means for causing the torpedo to be propelled and to be guided inits travel. rl`he rear compartment also f ontaiusmeans by winch a Jet of water is forced to any desired distance above the torpedo. The front point of the torpedo may be provided with the usual war head.

' ment.

Aopen to the sea.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure l is a view of a torpedo embodying the invention, the principal 4parts thereof being shown in longitudinalsection, the torpedo being shown as submerged in a body of Water; Fig. is a sectional view through thel rear of a torpedo, the same being shown on an enlarged scale for better disclosing the various operating parts; Fig. 3 is a side view of the wire carrying spool or drum, certain parts being broken away for better illustrating the construction; Fig. l is a diagram showing the wiring in the torpedo and the controlling means on shore; Fig. 5 is a detailed fragmentary side view of a switch arranged in the torpedo; Fig. 6 is a view similar to l? ig. except showing certain of the parts moved to a new position.

Referring to the accompanying drawings b v numeral 1 indicates the shell of the torped'o which may be of any desired size, and substantially of any shape, the same preferably, however, following the usual shape of torpedoes now in use. At the rear a propeller 2 is provided which is mounted upon a suitable shaft 3 driven by motor lthro'ugh shaft 5 and gear wheels G and 7. rflic motor l receives current from a suitable source of supply S arranged on the shore (Fig. 4L) through the wire 9 wound upon spool or drum l0. It will be observed that thc shell l. is provided with 'partitions l1 and l2 so as to present a forward compartment, a rearcompartmcnt and an intermediate compart- The intermediate compartment is where spool l0 is located, and is preferably T hc forward compartment is provided with any desired kind of an explosive lfrl, which explosive is adapted to be ignited or exploded by a fuse 14 when the same receives the proper current'for blowing. In order vthat the torpedo may bc better balanced the explosivel is arranged in the'lower portion of the shell l, whereby an uppcr compartment l5 is presented. lt will also' be evident that guiding tins or other1 suitable guiding means could be used for preventing the rotation Yof the shell 1. Though guiding Ens or other means may be provided for properly holding the Vtorpedo in a correct position it is preferred to 'use a propeller which rotates in one direction for driving the torpedo and to utilize the rotation of the spool or drum l0 which is adapted 'to rotate in the opposite direction to the propeller and thereby counteract the vrotating e'ect of the propeller. In this ,Wayfa smooth easing with few or no guidinfiins may be readily used and the torpeo properly maintained upright .When motor 4 rotates shaft 5 not only is thepropeller 2 driven but also a pump 16 is driven for supplying water to the distributing pipe 17 From' pipe 17 water 1s dlstributed to the jet pipe 18 after the same has passed. through valve 19. Valve 19 is provided with a controlling arm 2O which acts as an armature to magnet 21, whereby whenevernnagnet 21 is energized valve 19 will be opened and water from pump 16 will be discharged out of the jet pipe 18, as shown 1n Fig. 1'. Valve 19 is provided with a spring (not shown) which tends to maintain' the valve closed so that when the ma et 21 is denergized the valve is automatica ly closed. The particular construction of the valve forms no part of the invention and will therefore not be described in detail as any common form of spring valve which auto'- matically closes can be used4 provided the same is supplied with an operating member 20 which is of magnetic material so as to act as an armature for magnet 21.

Supply pipe 17 (Fig. 2) supplies water to the various valves 22, 23, 24 and 25, which valves control the various discharges26, 27, 28 and 29. The discharge members or pipes 27 and 28 are designed to steer the torpedo, and to cause the same to turn either to the right or left, while the tubes 26 and v,27 are designed to control the depth of the torpedo. The discharge of the water out of any of these tubes will cause a corres ending movement in the rear ofthe torp o which natu?.

rally will cause the pointv or `forward end to be pointed in a different `direction and consequently properly steered or caused to properly attain the correct depth. The valves 22 to "25, inclusive, are of the spring variety vsimilar to valve 19 and are Vprovided with operating levers 30, 31, 32 and 33 formed of magnetizable material so as to'vbe attracted by. the magnets 34, 35, 36 and 37, respectively. When any of these magnets are energized the valve associated therewith will be opened, and when denergized the valve will automatically close. The circuits of these magnets are clearly shown in Fig. l4 and will bepointed out in detail hereinafter.

Arranged in the rear compartment and connected in vany desired manner with the spool or drum 10 is a motor 38 which is supplied' with current from the supply I8 on the shore as long as 4the current is supplied to motor 4' s o'- that spool 10 will be given-a tendency to rotate and thereby assist the. wire 9 lin rotatingV the spool. The motor 38 may he of any desired power, but is preferably only 'suiiciently strong to rotate the spool, while empty, and thereby requirea ull upon wire 9 to cause the same to unwn )In this way the wire is relieved of the `principal part of I the strain and will readily unwind without injury. As shown in Fig. 3 the Wire 9 is passed through 'an aperture 39 in the sleeve ing shaft 45. Member 41 is rigidly secured I to the spool or drum 10 and extends through partition 11,. While shaft 44 is rigidly connected with sleeve 40 so as to rotatev therewith, and with spoollO. Any kind of packing may be providedl for `preventing Water from' passing from partition 11 `into the rear compartment or into the front compartment through partition 12. The current from wire 9 `passes'on tothe vsleeve 41 and fromv thenceto brush 42 and from brush 42 to the-various'parts in the rear compartment for causing-the proper operation of such parts. The current from brush 42 also passes throughcertainelem nts and finally to brush '46 and from brush 44 tola slip connection 47 of anyA desired kind and from thence 'to fuse 14to the ground. By these means whenever brush 46 is switched into the circuit of wire 9 fuse 14 will be blown. When fuse 14is `blown the pivotally mounted member 105 will move downwardly and engage the socket 106, member 105 acting' as the knife of an ordinary knife switch, and member 106 act-r ing as a socket. When fuse 14 is blown 6 through shaft member moves by weight'downwardly and engages the socket 106 so that current passes from knife 105 to wire 107 through socket 1067 and from thence through fuse 108'to the ground. The fuse 108 is arranged to ignite or.cause the explosive matter to- 44 'andthereby'heat toa ygreater or less4 ex-A` tent the v,fuse 14, which would be objectionthe housv able in case fuse 14"'-was in contact ,with the explosive. By providing means as shown in Fig. 4 it will be necessary to blow fuse 14 before the explosive can be exploded. l

eferring particularly to Fig. 4 a corn-l plete diagram will be seen-showing how 'the current flows through the variousv devices',

and'how the various devices are controlled.

On the shore is arranged a. source 'of power 8 and a rheostat 4 8. The rheostatv .'48Lis provided with an arm49 and with resist'- auce coils 50, 51,152, 53 and54 whichP are connected up with the respective contacts 55, 56, 57,4 58, 59 and 60. Contact 60 has connected therewith wire 9, whereby curvso as to press against the various contacts 67 to 71, inclusive, for allowing the current to properly pass to the various devices in the rear compartment and also to the fuse 14 under some circumstances, is provided. When arm 66 is in the position shown in Fig. 4 thecurrent will not pass through the same as the arm is resting upon a piece of insulation. -However, current will pass through solenoid 61, wire 62, the swinging arm 72, wire 73, and from thence to the feed wire 74 which is designed to supply current to motors 4 and 38. 'Current passing from these motors will traverse wire 75 and a common return wire 76 to the ground. The current passing this way will be sufficient to operate motors 4 and 88, but will not be sufficiently strong to magnetize the solenoid 61 to a proper extent for attracting the core-77, and therefore arm 66 will not be moved. Then the switch arm 49 on the shore direction.

is moved so as to contact with contact 55 current will flow in the last circuit described, namely, through the motors, and will not affect any of the other devices. This is true with the exception of the diving magnet 84. Current will divide at arm 72 and part will pass to the motors and part will pass through wire 78 to the contact 79 and from thence to a second contact 80. From contact 80 eurrentwill pass through wirePSl, magnet 34, wire 82 to the common return 76 to the ground. Qurrent will flow in this circuit until the torpedo has dived a sufficient distance to allow the pressure of the water acting on plunger 83 to move contact 79 out of engagement with contact 8O against the action of spring 84. As long these contacts are separated magnet 34 'will be dencrgized. 4It for any reason the torpedo should shift deeper than desirable the water pressure would cause the contact T9 to engage member 85 so that current will low from wire 78 through contact 79, member 85. wire S6, magnet 37, wire 87 to the common ieturu 76, and from thence to the ground. This will cause valve to be opened aud water to pass through tube 2 9 so to ydepress the rear cud of the torpedo and -thus point the torpedo in an upward This circuit is maintained until the pressure on plunger fz-s hasbeen sufficiently relieved for breaking the engagement of contact 79 and member 85. By providing members 80 and the depth at which the torpedo travels is automatically controlled. It is of course understood that spring 84 could be of any desired strength so as to maintain the torpedo'at the desired depth which is preferably only a short distance below the surface of the water.

Vhen thearr'n 49 ofthe controlling device on the shore is moved to contact 56, resistance will be cut out so that a more powerful current may pass to solenoid 61 and thereby attract the core 77 a su'iiicient distance for causing arm 66 to engage contact 67. lVhen this is done part of the current will pass through-wire to arm 66, contact 67, wire 86, magnet 21, wire 8S and common return 76 to the ground. vWhen magnet 21 has been energized the water jet valve 19 will be opened and water from pump 16 will be forced through pipe 18 for forming the jet shown in Fig. 1. In case it is desired to turn the torpedo so as to move it to the leftfarm 49 on the shore is moved to a position in engagement with contact 57,

whereupon resistance 51 will be cut out and f therefore an additional supply of current will pass through solenoid 61. This will cause arm 66 to move over to aposi-tion in contact with the contact segment 68, whereupon current will flow from arm 66, through segment 68, wire 89, magnet 35 and wire 90 to the common return 76, and from thence to the ground. This will cause valve 23 to open and water to pass through pipe 27 so as to properly shift the torpedo. If it should be desired to turn the torpedo to the right, arm 49 on the shore would be moved over so as to contact with member 58 and thus cut out resistance 52./ This lessening of the resistance of the line will cause a larger current to iiow through solenoid 61, whereby arm 66v will be turned over so as to engage the contact member 69. When arm 66 is in engagement with contact 69 current will pass fronnarm 66 through wire 69,wire 91, magnet 36, and wire 92 to the common return 76, and from thence to the ground. The magnetization of magnet 36 will cause valve 24. to bev opened and water to flow through pipe 28 so as toturn the torpedo to the right. If it should be desired to light the lamp 93 the arm 79 on the shore will be moved so as to engage Contact 59 and thereby cut out resistance 58. By cutting 'out resistance 53 an additional amount of current will flow through solenoid 61 so as to cause arm 66 to move to a position in engagement with contact 70. It is to be understood that the movement of arm 66 is caused by a pull against the action of spring 94. While arm 66 is in engagement with contact 70 current will flow fromarm 66 through contact 70, wire 95, lamp 93 and common return 76 to the ground. Lamp 93 will burn as long as arm 66 is in engagement with contact 70.

Whenever it uis desired to explode the ex.- 130 plosive matter 13 in the torpedo, arm 49 on the shore is moved to a position in engagement with contact 60, whereby resistance 54C will be cut out, and in fact all of the resistance will be cut out sotthat the full current will flow over wire 9 into the tor'- pedo. The passage of the .full current through solenoid 61 will cause arm 66 to move over and engage contact 71. As arm 66 engages contact 71 projection 96 which is provided with an insulatedl end 97'strikes against the contact-lever 72 and disengages the same from wires 73 and 78. Member 66 is provided with a hook adapted to catch and interlock with a suitable projection so as to lock arm 66-in contact with the contact 71 and thereby permit the'current to freely iow from wire 9, through shell-41, brush 42, Wire 43, solenoid 61, wire 62,.wire 65,v

arm 66, contact 71, Wire 98, brush 46, shaft 4,4, Wire 47, fuse 14, and from thenec through wire 99 to the ground. Current flowing in this circuit will cause fusell to `ignite the explosive matter 13. By moving the arm J66 over to contact 71 all of the current receiving devices will be cut out including motors 4 and 38, by end 97 striking contact lever 72 and moving the same out of engagement with Wires 73 and 78, whereby the entire current is switched on to the fuse 14. It is of course evident thatnone of the devices in the torpedo need be further operated when the time comes for exploding the ltorpedo so that there is no objection to cutting out all of these devices and utilizing the entire current'forigniting the explosive Sometimes it is desirable to move arm 66 quickly froin'contact 67 to contact 7 0, or to some intermediate Contact, and without supplying current to the intermediate devices. In order to -allow the arm to be moved to any particular contact Without switching currenton'to'the previous contact the devices shown in Figs. 5 and6 are utilized for holding arm 66 slightly raised above the vafrious contacts. A plurality of substantially pointed members 100 are arranged in connection with the supporting body 101, all o t' which are connected together by a link 102, link 102 being connected withmembers 100 by pivotal pins in any desiredv manner, and the pivotal mounting of members 100 may be done in any desired manner so that when in their normal position, as shown in Fig. l5, they -Will occupy a place between the vaL rious contacts...If it should be desiredto move the arm 66 to contact 68 without contact with Contact G7 the arm isv quickly brought-over`to contact-68 andthe various members 100 will act as shown in Fig. 6.

f lt will be observed that ai'quick movement lover the first member 100 will cause arm 66 to jump contact 67 and thereby prevent any momentary asnot to appreciably adect the devices connected with contact 67.. Suitable stops 103 and 104 are provided for limiting the swinging movement of memberslOO. lt is of course understood that arm 66is moved normally or step'by step across the various contacts through the action of sollenoid 61 and not manually. lt will be noted that `the light 93 isarrangedl adjacent-the discharge nozzle or member 18, whereby the light' may illuminate the waterjet from. 1 nozzle 18. This allows the observer on the shore to properly guide or steer the torpedo at night or at dusk.

What i claim is- 1. In a device of thecharacter described, means for indicating the location otorpeldoes comprising'a conduit extending in an upward direction, means for ejecting fluid from. said conduit to provide a visible elevation in the Water above the torpedo to serve as a visible marker, a pump for forcing said fluid through said conduit, a valve for controlling' the flow of fluid .through said conduit, an arm for controlling said valve, said arm being formed with an armature, a magnet adapted to attract said armature for moving said valve, a wire connected with said armature, a spool on; said torpedo for carryingI a supply wire, and means on the shore connected with said wires Jigor supmeans for ejecting fluid `therefrom for 'proj' les viding a jet of water extendingzan appre- I ciable distance above the Water so as tofserve as a visible marker, a ump foriorcingsaid fluid through said con .uit and steeringtubes connected with the torpedo, means j'or switching Water from said kpump to ,said steering tubes so as to control-thedirection of movement of the torpedo,` a -motorqfor drivingsaid pumps,and a Wire connected vvith said motor and with a source `of current on the shore for operating said-motor..`

4. In a device of the character described,

means indicating the location of torpedoes`j comprising an Vupwardly extendingv conduit,

a pump for forcing Water throughV said conduit so as to provide a jet ot' water an apprel ciable distance above the surface of the water in which the torpedo is positioned, meansy forl supplying a light adjacent said jet of Waterylso l ind means on the shore controlling said light and saidjet of water.

5. in a torpedo, a propelling member, a plurality of steering tubes, a pump for forcn ing water through said steering tubes for steering the torpedo, a wire carrying drum, a wire wound on said lruni vwith one end on shore, a motor connected with said vwire ior driving said pum i, a light connected with said wire, an upwardly extending tube, means for connecting the upwardly extending tube with seid pump, whereby there will be thrown a jet of water an appreciable distance above the water, means Vconnected with said wire for controlling the ticw of water through said conduit, a source ci current on the shore for supplying current to said wire. and mea-ns interposed between said source of current and said wire for varyingtlie iiow of current through said wire, whereby the various devices connected with said wire may be properly controlled.

6. ln an exteriorly controlled torpedo, a torpedo structure, means for driving said torpedo structure, said means including an electric motor, a pump connected with said motor, a plurality of steering tubes connected withsaid pump, a valve interposed in each of said tubes, an electrically operated member for controlling said valves, a wire carrying member arranged in said torpedo, a wire woundon said wire carrying member with one end in electrical communication with said motor, and with electric means 'for controlling said valves, a source of current on the shore and connected with one end of said wire, and a current controlling member arranged on the shore interposed in said wire.

7. In an exteriorly controlled torpedo, a torpedo structure,.a propelling mechanism including a motor` a pump connected with said motor, a plurality of steering tubes connected withl said pump, a valveiin each oi said steering tubes, electric means for controlling said valves, a .controlling member connected with said electric controlling means, a wire connected with said controlling member, and with said motor, said wire extending to the shore, a spool for carrying part et said wire onsaid torpedo, a source of current on the shore, and a iheostat controlling mechanism connected with said source of current, and to said wire, whereby current having different strength may be supplied to the torpedo for driving and steering the saine.

8. In an eXteriorly controlled submarine torpedo, a torpedo structure including the usual shell, an explosive receiving chamber, a

propelling mechanism for the torpedo including an electric motor, an electric contact wire extending li'rom said torpedo structure to Copies of this patent may be obtained for the shore, said electric wire being connected with said motor, a. pump connected with said motor, a plurality of steering tubes connected with said pump, a valve interposed Ain each of said steering tubes, an electric said valves, a'

member ior controlling switching device for controlling the supply of current to the respective electric inembers, said electric switching device being connected with said wire iu multiple with said motor, a source ccurrent arranged on the shore, and a rheostat arranged on the shore corresponding to said swf ,li mechanism and adapted to actsubstantially synclironously therewith, whereby any of the valves in said steering tubes may be actuated.

9. ln an eXteriorly controlled submarine torpedo, a torpedo structure provided with the usual casing and explosive receiving compartment, a propelling mechanism 1ncluding an electric motor, a pump connected with said motor, steering tubes connected with said pump, a valve arranged in each of said steering tubes provided with springs for normally holding the same closed, an electric magnet for each of said valves for opening the saine against the action of said springs, whereby when any of said valves are opened water will be forced through the respective tubes for turning the torpedo, and when said magnets are denergized the .respective valves will be automatically closed; a propeller connected with said magnets, said propeller being arranged in Said shell and provided with a plurality of segments insulated from each other, a swinging arm -designed to be brought into contact with any of said segments, a core member connected with said arm, a solenoid for attracting said core, whereby the arm is moved over said segments according to the energization of the solenoid, a supply wire extending from the shore to the torpedo and connected in multiple to said motor and to said controller, and a rheostat arranged on the shore corresponding to said controller, whereby when said rheosta't on the shore is moved from one contact to the other the arm of said controller will be likewise moved so as to cause any'of said magnets to be energized in order to properly steer the torpedo, and a fuse arranged to be brought into the circuit of said supply wire when the arm on said controller is moved to its extreme position under the action of said solenoid.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GUSTAV P. HELFRICH.

Witnesses:

BnNnDio'r Jorrit, PHILIP D. RoLLHAUs.

ve cents each., by addressing* the Commissioner oi' Entente' Washington, 10.0. 

